William Henry McCarty Jr. was born on November 23, 1859. He also went by the name William H. Bonny and when he was killed July 14, 1881 he had become the legendary Billy the Kid.Legends say he killed twenty-one men - one for each year of his life. But the truth is closer to 4-9 men who died by The Kid's hand. He was 5'8" tall with blue eyes, a good complexion, and prominent front teeth. He had a charm that drew in unsuspecting people who helped hide him and believed him a hero rather than the bad boy that he was.
But Billy didn't become a real legend until 1881 when the New Mexico governor place a price on his head. Dead or alive. And it was the sheriff of Lincoln County New Mexico, Pat F. Garrett who hunted down and killed Billy the Kid.
I have some trivia about Billy below. Tell me which are true and which are false and you'll be in the drawing for a book titled: The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid by Pat F. Garrett copyright 1959.
1. The Kid was "adept at cards" at the age of eight or nine.
2. He killed three Apaches near Fort Bowie.
3. Billy won a horse race near San Simon.
4.The rescue of a wagon train by the Kid and Jesse Evans.
9 comments:
Wow, I don't know any of the answers but I'd love the book so I'm guessing.
1.F
2.T
3.T
4.T
Thanks for the post. Billy the Kid has always fascinated me (not enough to remember the facts, obviously).
Thanks for entering the contest, Stephanie.
Paty, I don't know the aswers, but I will tell you an interesting bit of trivia. See, that's what I always remember instead of beneficial stuff. ☺ Hico, Texas is a town about 60 miles or so from me. They have a statue of Billy the Kid and claim that secretly, he escaped to start a new life and came to Hico, where he lived until he died as an old man. Earl Staggs, a friend of mine, has a cute short story published called "The Day Billy Died" on, I think, Untreed Reads. There are many myths about famous outlaws, and I doubt most are true. Hico has an annual Billy The Kid Celebration.
Oohh...one of my favorite characters of the old west. I should know the answers since I just watched a documentary about him, but I'll have to take a guess.
1.F
2.T
3.F
4.T
Tough trivia!! I'll have to guess:
1. T
2. F
3. T
4. T
John and I would both love to read the book!
Caroline that is interesting and I've heard that before--that Billy the Kid lived and grew old under an assumed name.
Donya, The answers to these are in the book I'm giving away. ;0)
Hi Karen! Thanks for joining the trivia challenge.
None true. (I have the book - which is the source for these and most other outlandish fictions regarding Billy the Kid. But it's still fun to read.)
Oh well, I might as well drop in a plug here. You can get my brand new book, The Autobiography of Billy the Kid, from Amazon - print or digital.
Caminos felices,
Ralph Estes
Ralph, Good thing I didn't plan on giving the prize to the person who knew the answers but just to someone who tried. ;) It is a fun book. So how do you write an autobiography of Billy the Kid when you aren't him? Or are you? As previously stated, he may not have died at the end of Pat Garrett's barrel. Sounds like a fun read! Want to be a guest on this blog some time to talk about your "autobiography"?
No one, that is, N O O N E, can prove when, where or to whom BtK was born. Whoever gave you that purely fictitious date pulled it directly from their nether regions. The rest of the write-up is equally as fictitious.
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